Casual
by EveryDayArtist
Summary: No one said that their views on relationships had to be the same. Bruce and Dick discuss Bruce's dating habits and Dick's concerns. (Sex is referenced but never in an inappropriate or graphic way)


Dick was seventeen and had been living with Bruce for seven and a half years so he knew exactly what was going on when he heard the giggles. The teen slumped and stopped in his trek down the hallway in order to quickly duck into a side room and hide. It was to be expected with Bruce being Bruce; although since Dick had moved in he was pretty sure that Bruce had toned it down a bit out of respect for him and fear of CPS. But occasionally the telltale sounds of excited laughter and hushing noises could be heard down the halls of Wayne Manor after a charity event or party. The teen expertly snuck back into the sanctity of his own room and pulled out his headphones and laptop before settling down to watch Sabrina for the hundredth time and try not to think about what was going on down the hall.

It usually made suiting up later that night a little awkward.

Dick was pulling on his cape when Bruce slunk in, blushing slightly, and didn't even look over his shoulder. "Hey."

"…Hey."

The walk of shame was something that happened on a slightly more often basis. Bruce turned to look at his ward as the young man sat on the couch, reading a book. "Hey…"

"Hey, have fun last night?"

It was always so fake sounding and Bruce always found himself merely muttering something about it being a good show or the restaurant being excellent before slinking off.

* * *

Bruce hadn't meant to get a little tipsy at the museum opening but it was probably good for the image to get caught with his tongue down some blonde model's throat. His heart wasn't really in it, as always, but the playboy persona had to be maintained. He didn't mind that the paparazzi would have a field day and his face would be all over the tabloids tomorrow.

The look on Dick's face, from where the teen was sitting at another table playing with his phone? That he kind of minded.

* * *

Dick was a virgin. Of course Bruce knew that. He may have been his guardian but he was closer to an older brother than anything else and that was something that Dick would have told him about one way or another. It explained why the teen was uncomfortable when Bruce brought women home. It did not explain why Dick looked irritated when Bruce was just flirting with them innocently at parties.

He looked up from his seat next to a charming brunette in a slinky black dress and saw Dick scowling down at his food.

* * *

When Batman managed to pull away from Catwoman, his face beneath the cowl was slightly flushed and she was grinning ear to ear. She blew him another kiss before neatly flipping off the rooftop. When Batman looked to his left, Robin was leaning against a wall and trying not to smile.

Seriously, what the hell?

* * *

It came to a head when Bruce attended a parent-teacher conference to see about moving Dick to a higher math. His teacher was a pretty woman, blonde and a few years older than Bruce; they talked for a while before getting to the subject at hand and by the time they had finished they had a dinner date on Friday.

When Bruce got home, Dick was curled up on the couch and reading again.

"How'd it go?"

"Fine, she's going to talk to you tomorrow about your options but it looks like everything's set." He hesitated before continuing. "Nice woman, I can see why you like her class."

Dick twisted around so fast that Bruce could hear his neck crack. The teen stared at him for a long minute before his eyes shuttered slightly and he went back to his book.

That was it.

"Dick." Bruce walked over and sat next to his ward, trying to look him the eye. "We need to talk."

"Oh? 'Bout what?"

"About this attitude you show when I talk about any of my dates."

Dick gritted his teeth. "There's…"

"Yes there is and it's getting worse so I want to know why you are so uncomfortable. I'd just stop bringing girls here but everything I do seems to make you irritated so please, tell me what I can do."

"It's…" Dick looked away. "Not your fault. It's just something I have to get over."

Bruce wasn't a fan of physical contact but on occasion it was necessary. He wrapped his arms around the teen, trapping the smaller form and put his chin on top of Dick's head. "Please talk to me about this."

Dick seemed to melt; Bruce might not enjoy touch but Dick ate it up. The teen looked straight ahead but then, "It's just… They're not your dates. They're your one-night-stands. They're… _Casual_."

"And it makes you uncomfortable." Bruce frowned into the messy hair, trying to understand his boy's discomfort. Dick sighed.

"Yeah. I mean, Mom always told me people should wait for marriage to have sex." The teen shrugged. "I don't really know if I agree with that but I get what she was saying you know?"

He hesitated. "It's not fair, 'cuz I know that everything is reciprocated, but I feel like you're using those women and you are; even if they're just in it for the sex you're still using them to maintain this forced reputation and… It kind of pisses me off."

Face scrunched up, Dick kicked bad-temperedly at the coffee table. "It's not just you though. One of my friends at school moved in with her boyfriend and it makes me feel weird thinking about it. I just don't think you should live with someone like that unless you're married. But that probably sounds bizarre to all the guys at school and you have no problem with casual at all so there's not a lot of people I can talk to about this. I love Alfred but there are things I am not talking over with him, I am still scarred over his 'birds and bees' talk when I was thirteen."

Bruce smiled at the memory of his mentally traumatized charge's face but the smile slid off as the sound of Dick's voice becoming more and more choked.

"M-Mom and Dad were so happy, they waited and Dad always treated Mom like a queen and said it made him sad that she wasn't his first. He was hers; and it made him feel so special. I think that's wonderful. And it just ruins things; I don't even talk to the girls you date because I know they'll be gone within days. I've seen girls at school who get pregnant and people who get sick because of it or just feel wrong…"

Dick rubbed at his eyes with his sleeve. "And some of the girls at school have tried to get me to… But when I say no they make me feel like I'm insulting them! And the guys make sound like I'm a loser 'cuz I'm a virgin and there's all this pressure from everyone and the media to do it because it's unavoidable and-and-"

He whirled, staring up at Bruce. "And have you noticed that you're not really a man until you've had sex, and with the more women the better, but if a girl sleeps with someone she's a-a slut. If girls are supposed to be virgins then who the hell are we supposed to be sleeping with and why's there this ridiculous double standard and why isn't okay that I just don't want to?!"

"Dick…" Bruce pulled him close, trying to find the right words to calm him down as the teenager sniffled into his chest. Dick blinked blearily, enjoying the warmth of his guardian and the comfort of being anchored. Normally he'd be embarrassed about losing it over something like this but it had begun to feel so constricting that the release was more than worth any discomfort. Still… He knew Bruce probably didn't really understand and with an internal sigh, the teen acknowledged that it was fine; they didn't have to agree on this. Dick would… just have to adjust.

"Don't ever change."

Dick blinked at that, looking up at Bruce in surprise as the man nodded with the look on his face that meant he'd reached a decision. "Dick… The way you view sex is beautiful and I don't want you to change anything about it; particularly if it makes you feel happy. I'm not bringing any girls home anymore; keeping the image of Bruce Wayne as a playboy idiot is important but I will think of alternatives. I want this to be one place where you don't have to feel pressured to be anyone who you're not. And Dick." He made sure that the teen was looking at him. "Never, ever let someone make you do something you're not comfortable with. You have every right to wait and I admire you so much for how much you put effort into your relationships. You're incredible."

Dick looked like he was going to cry so Bruce quickly continued. "So. I am going to take your teacher to dinner because I think she's a nice woman and I'd like to talk to her. But I won't sleep with her. I promise."

"I don't-"

"Well I do." Bruce was adamant. "You matter to me and I care about your opinion and whether you're comfortable." He sighed. "Dammit, Dickie, you're an amazing kid."

Both men were beginning to feel the strain, Bruce not usually being so emotional, so Dick sniffled and stood up. "I have some homework to finish." He hesitated in the doorway. "Bruce… Thanks. For listening and understanding."

"Wait!" A thought struck the millionaire and he looked over the back of the couch. "So, why don't you ever object to the blatant way Selina flirts with me?"

Dick flashed that thousand-watt smile. "Because you actually like her."

* * *

**I'd say this came from a couple of places. **

**One being the fact that Bruce is a player like no one else and he is pretty callus about sex. **

**Another is the awful way DC is treating Dick's sexuality in recent years. Dick thrives on relationships and unless he was head over heels in love with someone, he's not going to jump into bed with them, much less some random woman; let's not forget the whole thing with Huntress and how guilty and horrible he felt about it. And I've read that when he and Kori moved in together he was uncomfortable with it, the comment about living with someone outside of marriage is an actual quote. Also, they never addressed the Tarantula thing, which is **_**wrong**_**.**

**The final draw was a personal one, I'm pretty much in Dick's situation and sex has become such a wearisome topic to me. **


End file.
